"What do you mean, can you or not? In the future, Duo'er will listen to you. You want to buy a courtyard? Isn't Fuhai Building good? Don't you like it here? Then what kind of courtyard do you want?" Cheng Mo seemed somewhat anxious.
"You're talking nonsense. Are you Duo'er's father? Her real father hasn't spoken yet. Who asked you to arrange things here? Fuhai Building is very good, but the Tong family will have people coming down the mountain to deliver goods. Can't they all stay here? Shouldn't I provide a place for the Tong family to stay?" Xiangbei replied.
"That's right. Uncle Zhong, go to the east side of the street later and find a courtyard for Xiangbei. The Tong family will have a place to stay when they come. Duo'er will definitely be happy to follow you. Her father and I have the same idea, right, Cheng Tian?" Cheng Mo replied.
"The young master is right. I'll go find her later." Cheng Tian nodded.
"Uncle Zhong, you are the most familiar with this town. I'll trouble you. It doesn't need to be too big. They won't all come at once. I only have three hundred taels. Please arrange it within this budget." Xiangbei said.
"I understand. I'll arrange it later. I'll have someone go and do it. I'll go down and make arrangements. After you finish eating, I'll go down and see those goods?" Zhong replied.
"I've finished eating. All the meat is fresh. Let's go and see. We hunted more than eighty wild animals in the past two days." Xiangbei replied.
"Ah? This...this..." The number was a bit astonishing. Zhong and even Cheng Mo were momentarily at a loss for words.
"We didn't send them all to you. We used some methods to preserve them. We only took the most tender parts for you." Xiangbei explained.
"Oh, this is Tong's. In the future, listen to her." Uncle Zhong greeted the manager and walked up to the carriage. Xiangbei quickly jumped onto the carriage, lifted the curtain, and went inside. In a moment, she swiftly moved a few baskets of things, including smoked chicken, duck, fish, several boxes of honey wine, three boxes of bees, oil residue, bee pupae, and the nitrate ice ridge stored temporarily in the Snow Jade Cave. Cheng Mo jumped up to help her drag everything out. They were all curious about the cold wooden basin. Did the Tong family also store ice?
The first thing they opened was the "icebox," and everyone took a sharp breath. The Tong family was indeed generous. With so much ice, did they still need to hunt for a few bits of silver? "This is ice made from nitrate stone boiled with water. If it melts, just boil the water dry to extract nitrate powder and add water again. This method is the best for preserving freshness for three to five days. However, nitrate stone cannot touch food, so it needs to be separated by a golden copper vessel. All the large copper pots in my house, even my grandfather's medicine dishes, were used to store meat. The others had to be salted and smoked into cured meat. This method can keep for three months in spring and summer and up to one or two years in autumn and winter. The flavor is even more unique. There is also this braised meat. It's not easy to come down from the mountains, so after braising, it can be preserved for three to five days without spoiling. It's also the best choice for drinking or eating on the road."
Not to mention the taste of these new dishes, just these three preservation methods made Uncle Zhong, who managed a dozen chain restaurants, widen his eyes. He wished he could make Xiangbei stop now and explain in detail. Of course, in front of the young master, he didn't even change his respectful expression.
Xiangbei took out a few crispy bee pupae and stuffed them into Cheng Mo's mouth. Uncle Zhong instinctively took a step forward, but before he could stop her, Xiangbei stuffed a small handful of pig oil residue with honey into Cheng Mo's mouth. "Is it delicious? Which one do you like better? Tell me which one you prefer."
"Both are delicious. What's this? I prefer the sweet one at the back. Give me a bit more." Cheng Mo slightly parted his lips, waiting for Xiangbei to feed him again.
"We'll continue later. As long as it's delicious, that's enough. I'll tell you later. I'm afraid if you know, you'll spit it out, and that would be a waste. But men who like sweets are forever little boys who never grow up, you know." Xiangbei felt delighted in her heart, but she wouldn't tell him that men who enjoy sweet things often have a gentle and kind heart.